If you believe in the theory of evolution, does that mean you cannot believe in God?

Question

You won't find God mentioned in a biology textbook.
I always hear people talking about the origin of life and it seems they only take one side and not the other.
I am a biology student but my religion comes first, but i also believe that it is possible that God used evolution as one of the tools to create life.
ie: Evolution could not have taken place if God did not want it to.

Is it so crazy to believe that evolution and creationism can go hand in hand and are infact inseperable?

Answer 1

If God exists, I think believing that God created humans THROUGH evolution is a good way to think. And I don't think God would hate you if you happened to be wrong about evolution, God would probably laugh and love you anyway because your heart and mind were in the right places.

Answer 2

Evolutionary theory and creationism are wholly irreconcileable.
However, evolution and religion are not.
Creationism is the idea that God designed every living being on earth prety much as we see it now, and breathed life into clay or something to realise His grand plan. Because it talks about how life as we see it today came to take it's current form, creationism proper can't be true if you accept Darwinian thinking.
It is, however, perfectly sound to accept evolution whilst beliving in a God who rather than designing life, designed the space and time in which life exists; using evolution as a tool in a manner of speaking to create and develop life within that universe.

In reaction to a couple of other answers here: Man put together the Bible; God put together the universe (or if I'm wrong, then there's definitely no higher truth than material reality) so religion can't afford to ignore scientific fact or brand it heresy.

Equally, you can't say that science renders God even less improbable than a medieval and limited knowledge of the workings of the world. Science's suggestions as to what caused the Big bang are pretty unconvincing thus far; quantum mechanics gives a legitimate scientific framework within which God could work any miracles He likes!
Dawkins' argument against God is that He would have to be more complex than humans, so we can't invoke his complexity as a way of explaining ours. But complexity in a scientific sense means an ordered arrangment of a large number of constituent parts; which is a property of material things only. so Dawkins' argument is fundamentally flawed. His critique of creationism is definiteyly worth a read though.

Answer 3

I think that evolution and creationism can go hand in hand.
For a top to spin something needs to spin it.
Why should the universe be any different. The big bang didn't come from nowhere.
You need to examine what creationism really means.
The bible is full of stories to help you understand life. You don't have to take it all so literally.
Accept evolution and keep your faith. Eventually things will fall into place the more you question old beliefs.
When reading religous text, look beyond the words and see what the message is, remember the times, and don't take it all so seriously.

Answer 4

An important point to make is that, Science requires evidence while Religion is a matter of faith and belief. First of all, one does not have to believe in evolution as there is evidence. Belief is the only way to see God.

To bring God into Science without providing proof does not do Science justice as you are making a statement without backing it up with evidence.

To bring science into Religion also does not do religion justice because what you believe in requires no proof. So, yes, you can state that evolution is God's tool but that is a philosophical statement as you do not have proof of it. That it something that is believed in by some and not by others.

But to bring that argument into Science is not scientific. Also, evolution does not deal with origins of life, only how life carries on over time.

So, yes, you can see evolutionary evidence as true and believe in God but I wouldn't mix the two together.

Answer 5

There are a lot of people that take one side or the other. As a future biologist myself, I have come to terms with believing in science and having faith. First you have to know science well. You can't be like some creationists and think that humans evolved from apes. And on the other side of the coin, you have to know your religion well. I didn't find it difficult to integrate the two once I studied both. I think that it is important for any kind of belief to be educated on what you believe in and why.

My different kind of interpretation of my religion allowed me to fit the Bible and my Biology book together very nicely and when I compared my studies of Psychology, it helped immensely. I believe everyone could do the same if they really wanted to.

Answer 6

"God" or a belief in some supernatural other is a product of evolution. As homo sapien evolved from earlier hominids the brain developed to the extent that unanswerable questions were formed. To answer the questions the human mind (in a collective sense) made up concepts such as GOD. There is little evidence for organised religious belief before the commencement of organised farming, say 11000 years ago, although the Australian aboriginees had a sophisticated belief system based on "nature".

Answer 7

Your theory is perfectly possible. God could have created the big bang and the evolution of the life. He or she might have even tweaked it little bit. But as a person who have faith in bible can not accept that logic. Because you know what bible says about how we are created. This is in odds with religious groups belief. Also by accepting your theory they are downgrading the god they know.

Then a true evolutionist is not going to accept your theory because he knows better. He knows what is feasible and what is not.

So here here goes your theory straight to the toilet.

So think hard and come up with a better theory both can buy in to it.

Answer 8

I don't know if you're a jokester or something (your questions are so ridiculous), but I'll bite:

The theory of evolution has nothing to do with "God". God is a psychological idea that many humans need to construct for themselves so that they feel secure, important, or safe.
The theory of evolution is supported by a vast amount of empirical evidence. Just stepping out your front door in the morning and observing what is happening is enough evidence to support evolution. Trees spreading their leaves to catch the sun. Flowers looking pretty to attract pollen transferring insects, not to mention people collecting them to spread their seeds. It's so damned obvious....

Answer 9

Evolution does not rule out a god. Evolution rules out some of the things written in the Bible -- and given as unquestionable facts that are not open for discussion by some -- specifically about the origin of this planet and the life on it, and only about those events.

Answer 10

They are NOT mutually exclusive. God put forth so many intricate natural laws. Christians can't deny the laws of physics and chemistry can we? We don't believe that a chemical reaction is Him personally breaking and reforming chemical bonds every time, do we? No, instead we understand that there are certain laws that govern what happens, and it all happens on it's own. Why then can't we believe that evolution is just another one of these natural laws? I'm a bio major and a Christian, and the more I learn about the intricacies of science, the more amazed I am.